More Cups of Tea
by The Glorious Cheshire Cat
Summary: Oh look...more one-shots about our darling Alice and Jervis. Thank Charlotte for this. This time a couple are mine. Enjoy. Rating may be subject to change depending on me.
1. Ring

More Cups of Tea

By: The Glorious Cheshire Cat

Disclaimer: Okay, you lot know the drill. I own nothing. This is a response to the other one sentence plots of Charlotte A. Cavatica. This time there will be at least one plot of my own. The one shots are in random order as they are in my Little Book of Plots in which I have written them all down. You can stick them in wherever you feel they belong in my other story _Cups of Tea_. Ta. –Ches.

#1

Ring

She looked around sneakily, not fully understanding why she was looking around to make sure no one was looking.

It's not like what she was about to do was illegal; it was just a little uncomfortable to be watched as she did it.

The beggar was dozing in his spot on the corner, his cup resting between his knobby knees.

She glanced around once more before walking by and letting it fall from her fingers with a few quarters.

Her pace picked up and she rounded the corner on her way home for the day.

Ari stuck her head out of the kitchen when Alice entered. "You look lighter. Have you finally gotten rid of that hateful reminder of the past and spineless lizard?"

Alice hung up her coat. She sighed. "I did. But I didn't sell it or anything like that."

Ari wiped her hands on the hand towel she had hung from her belt. "Of course you didn't, Alice. You've no need for money, and if you did, I'd like to think you'd come to me or Zeek before selling anything off."

"You know I would. Is there anything I can help with to make dinner?" Alice questioned.

Ari waved Alice towards the living room. "No, no. I've got it. You go read more of that book. Jervis wanted you to read it after all, and we both know that you enjoy it."

Alice smiled and went to do as told.

Ari just smiled, shook her head, and went back to making dinner.

Later that week, Ari sat in the Visiting Room of Arkham Asylum across from Jervis Tetch.

"Alice didn't keep Billy's ring, but she couldn't bear to sell it or pawn it –eventually, she secretly slipped it into the cup of a beggar on Dodo Avenue. She's lighter for it now." Ari told him.

"It's finally over then?" Jervis asked.

Ari nodded. "All we have to suffer through is his trial."

"You'll let me know what his punishment is won't you?"

"Absolutely. Don't worry; he'll be taken care of should anything go awry. Zeek and I won't let anything happen to Alice."

"When is the trial?"

Ari fiddled with the small container of tarts before her before sliding them over to Jervis. "Two days. I'll drop by the day after to let you know."

Jervis paused in lifting a tart to his mouth. "Will the doctors let you?"

"I have special dispensation to do so. It's a quick message, but it'll also depend upon how long the trial goes on. He's got a defense lawyer that's hard to beat I hear, and he wants to charge me with assault and say that everything that _slug_ did was in self-defense."

Jervis swallowed what was in his mouth. "Your witnesses should blow that story to shreds."

Ari shrugged. "We can hope, just depends on how his lawyer twists words." She glanced up at the clock. "I have to go. I'll see you as soon as I can." She got up and left, leaving the container of tarts.

Jervis stared at it, wondering at Arianna, her strange habits and quirks, and just how she, Alice, Zeek, and he somehow became part of a select group.


	2. Hero

#2

Hero

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

* * *

It was an hour before the work day ended.

Jervis sighed as he looked at the clock once more. "'He won't do a thing I ask.'" He drained what was left in his teacup and placed it to the side.

Outside the door to his office came a light 'oomph' that caught his attention.

Jervis opened his door to find Alice and Ari carefully arranging boxes near Alice's desk.

Ari put her hands at the small of her back and bent backwards, so far that Jervis was sure it wasn't healthy for someone's spine. "Great Dam above, Alice. How ever did you get caught up in this mess of Dr. Cates's? You should know by now that when she says anything is 'a little project' it's really not."

Alice flushed slightly as she fanned herself. "She said it was just a few boxes of papers to go through."

Ari fixed her with a look. "Alice, her definition of few and your definition of few are two utterly different things." She sighed. "I should call Zeek. We've brought up six boxes already, but there's still about eight more boxes to be lugged up here. You're lucky, Alice, that things are extremely slow in my department, or I wouldn't be here to help you bring these up or go through them."

Alice stood up straight. "And I'm grateful, Ari, really I am. We should probably go get those other boxes. We've only an hour before it's time to go home."

Jervis stepped out into Alice's working space. "Do the two of you need any help, my dear?"

Alice smiled at him. "Help would be wonderful, Jervis. But only if you've nothing to do."

He smiled back timidly. "Of course. I'm finished for today."

Alice beamed at him. "You're a real prince, Jervis. Now Ari and I will get the boxes up here sooner and won't have to spend time getting the rest of them tomorrow." She led the way from the office.

Jervis was fairly certain that he wasn't a prince of any caliber, but princes were brutes anyway…if it pleased Alice, he would assume the role of Rumpelstiltskin, if he could only have her love in return for his services.

Ari sent him a sympathetic look. "She knows not what kind of damage she wroughts. Come along you White Knight. Fair maiden will begin to wonder if you haven't rode off into the sunset or not."

Jervis couldn't help but chuckle at the Lewis Carroll reference. He followed Ari after Alice, ready to face pretty much anything his lovely Alice asked him to, even if it was just a few boxes of papers.


	3. Memory

#3

Memory

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

* * *

Arianna stood at the foot of Jervis's bed as Alice sat on the side and used a cool washcloth to wipe his sweaty brow.

Alice looked at her friend. "He's really sick this time, Ari."

Ari smiled a comforting smile. "He'll make it through, Alice. He always does."

Alice sighed and brushed a lock of silver hair from her ill husband's face. "I'm not so sure about this time, Ari. I think he's pushed himself a little too hard this time."

Zeek entered the sickroom, still looking quite dashing at the age of fifty-three with salt-and-pepper hair. "You have to think positive Alice. He always gets better. He always comes back to you."

Ari's laugh lines were deepened by the grin she sported.

"I have this feeling that the two of you are not going to die and leave the other behind. I know you'll die in each other's arms on a day far away from now." Ari told Alice.

Alice smiled sadly. "I hope so, Ari, I hope so." She kissed Jervis's cheek. "Come back to me, my love. Get better. I love you." she whispered to him, hoping that her words would reach him in his fever-induced dreams.

*~*~*~*

_Batman was after him. What for Jervis didn't know._

_He'd given up crime years ago, after Alice had saved him and told him that she loved him. He'd given it all up for her and didn't regret one moment of it._

_"Give up, Tetch! You've lost! She's never going to be yours!" Batman called._

_"No, no, no." Jervis muttered, running as fast as he could._

_Suddenly the scene around him changed to be a strange woods._

_The path ahead split into two, and he paused a moment to look down both._

_Humming came from the tree that stood between the two paths._

_Jervis looked up to find a woman that was also a cat. He stared in shock when he realized she looked like Ari had when he'd first met her._

_She looked down at him. "A decision for you to make, Hatter. Which path will you take?"_

_He glanced down both paths and turned around when he realized from the sounds behind him that Batman was still after him. He looked at the cat-woman. "Which path is which?"_

_She pointed to the path to his left. "Down that path lies Death with no chance of ever regaining your Kingdom. That which follows you will try to force you down it."_

_He swallowed sharply, hearing Batman get closer. "And the other?"_

_She smiled kindly at him. "Down the other lies the Queen. She waits for you to come back to her, Your Majesty. Queen Alice and Wonderland lay at the end of that path. Which do you choose? And make your choice quickly, because he's coming."_

_Jervis didn't spare the choice any thought. He took off like the White Rabbit down the right-hand path._

_The cat-woman grinned._

_The King was on his way._

*~*~*~*

Alice broke out into relieved tears when Jervis opened his eyes.

The fever had finally broke, but wasn't completely gone.

Jervis clung to her and cried a little himself. He told her about his horrible dreams.

After Jervis had been himself long enough to reject any memory of a life not built with teacups and cemented with smoke rings, he held onto Alice –she was part of the fairytale as well, after all.

He wanted nothing more than to stay with his Queen.

Ari and Zeek quietly left the room.

"We should have taken them home after they were married." Zeek muttered to Ari. "And you shouldn't keep showing him your real form when he gets sick."

She rolled her eyes as they tiptoed away from the bedroom door. "I only do it when there's a big chance he won't make it. Sometimes the paths switch. Someone has to guide him and that falls under my duties."

Zeek grabbed her hand as they started down the stairs. "We shouldn't be here. We should be preparing for their arrival, not playing humans."

She paused them a couple feet from the doorway to the large living room. "White and Hare can handle it. And besides, Knave, would you have rather missed out on this?" She gestured to the living room where not only Jervis and Alice's children and grandchildren were gathered, but their own as well.

Zeek watched the scene before them and sighed. He gave Ari a rueful smile. "You're right. I wouldn't have missed this for the world, especially the wedding between our youngest girl and their youngest son. We can claim that it's what families do when we snatch something."

Ari laughed. "I wouldn't have to. They'd just give me what I wanted." She entered the living room to spread the good news of Jervis's recovery.

* * *

A/N: Not what I was first going to go for, but it works.


	4. Box

#4

Box

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

It sat under her desk and her foot always touched it while she worked. It was just another connection to the man she loved.

There wasn't anything special about it really: just a small brown cardboard box with the word 'personal items' written on a top flap in her handwriting.

It was what the box contained that made it special.

Within it was a teacup depicting the mad tea party from _Alice in Wonderland_she'd gifted to Jervis on his birthday, a couple left over control cards Ari and Zeek had been able to snag, and Jervis' leather bound notebooks containing all his work, including the little doodles he'd made in the margin.

Dr. Cates and the rest of the company had been dead set on just throwing everything away, but Ari and Zeek had appeared in the department early the morning after Jervis had been sent off to Arkham and went through everything while the higher ups discussed what to do with all the things in his office.

Everything of value to Jervis had been saved: from his poster (which now hung on her bedroom wall in Ari's apartment) to Carrol the rat and her offspring.

All of the personal objects from his office fit in a small box under her desk, and that thought made Alice cry.

It seemed that no one cared much for Jervis besides herself, Ari, and Zeek. No one but the three of them had seen it fit to give him gifts over the years he'd been working at Wayne Enterprises.

It touched her that Ari had sprang into action right after _The Incident_ in order to save what was most precious to Jervis in his office. She didn't know what she might have done if there was to be no sign that Jervis had ever occupied the space with her.

The office was empty now, had been delegated for storage space for other departments since Mr. Wayne had shut down the nanotechnology department in case history repeated itself.

Alice glanced at the box, smiled, and went back to work. She was connected to Jervis, just by having that box under her desk.


	5. Hurricane

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

#5

Hurricane

Alice smiled at him as he passed her desk on his way to his office after refilling his teapot.

Jervis returned the smile, feeling it welling up in him, the storm that always made an appearance around Alice. He entered his office and shut the door tightly.

Ari rolled her eyes as she passed by the doorway. "Honestly! The sexual tension and unspoken love between the two of them is going to kill someone someday. They really need to do something about it."

Zeek chuckled as he followed along behind her. "Don't you mean _you_ should do something about it, Kitty? It does fall under your duties doesn't it?"

Ari shot him a look over her shoulder. "Shut it Knave. Hare's bet me a week's worth of tarts that I'll have to get them together. I'd rather not lose that bet."

Zeek grinned. "Why? What'd you bet him?"

Ari paused and looked back at the doorway to where Jervis and Alice were with narrowed eyes. "If they don't get together on their own, I have to test his latest culinary creations. I have no wish to get food poisoning." She continued on to her desk.

*~*~*~*

Jervis sighed as he sipped his tea. He wished there was something else he could do.

The storm had finally disappeared, as had the mad thoughts that always came with it. The urge to kiss Alice, to do anything to get her to notice him as something other than her boss had fled. They had fled and left him drained.

Jervis always felt a hurricane boiling in his blood whenever he saw Alice smile at him, a shockwave of electricity that begged him to do something dangerous and downright mad, and it took him several minutes alone in his office before he'd be able to emerge with clear skies again.

It was little wonder that most of the company thought he was a recluse instead of just devoted to his work.

Hare chuckled from the other side of the small mirror in Jervis' office as he pocketed the little bottle containing a precise mixture of _Electric Madness_ and _Timidness_ he'd gotten from the new White Queen.

"You do know that Cheshire will skin you alive if she ever finds out you've been spiking the King's tea with that since you made that bet with her, don't you?" the White Rabbit asked his utterly deranged cousin.

Hare grinned at him. "Come now White. 'Ow's Ches ever gonna find out? Yer not going to tell 'er now are ye?"

White sighed, his whiskers drooping. "I really should."

"But ye wouldna want that wee fine lass of yers to find out about what ye did, would ye?" Hare returned.

"Oh, she already knows about that Hare. She doesn't care since she loves him anyway." came Zeek's voice from behind them. "And if you don't mind, I'll take that bottle. I can't wait to see what Kitty is going to do to you for this."

Hare paled as he turned to face Zeek. "Ye woulna do that to a poor ol' March 'Are, would ye Kanve? I've got a wife an' a warren of kits to think of."

Zeek took the bottle from his pocket. "Should have thought about them before trying to cheat Cheshire."

Hare covered his face with his paws. "I'm doomed!"


	6. Wings, Fear, & Bonds

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

#6

Wings, Fear, & Bonds

He was practically dancing down the hallways of the building, his mind focused solely on the lovely blond he'd spent so much time with the night before.

People gave him odder looks than usual as he passed by them, humming and carrying a bouquet of red roses.

Ezekiel Redd gave him a large smile and two thumbs up as they passed each other in the hallway.

_Apparently today is just a frabjous day to visit the woman one loves_, Jervis mused as he made his way towards the hall where his office was located.

Arianna Fields came shooting out of it like a cat out of water. She looked livid and even sounded like a cat as she hissed something he couldn't understand while heading towards where her desk was.

He grinned when he saw Alice and greeted her.

The moment his eyes landed on the cold and heartless thing adorning her left hand, he heard nothing but the sound of his blood rushing angrily through his veins. His hands clenched tightly without conscious thought.

No angel of his would have clipped wings, he decided, the pain of a thorn in his palm as his rose showed him the ring.

He barely remembered replying to her and entering his office, let alone tossing the now worthless bouquet into the trash.

The bonds of matrimony would weigh her down, clip her wings, and he only wanted to watch her fly.

His mind added that it wouldn't be so if she were with him, if _he_ was her husband. _He_ would let her fly, would never try to tie her down or anything of the sort.

He'd never known fear until he'd seen that horrible metal shackle locked around her finger –something had to be done.

His eyes fell upon his control cards and a most sinister grin spread across his face as a most mad idea came to him.

If the boy wanted his Queen, they'd see who had the stronger will when it came to keeping her.

He dimly registered Dr. Cates coming into the room and beginning to yell at him.

His patience with the annoying woman broke and he slipped a control card behind her ear.

"Oh do be quiet." He paused as another idea came to him. "Come along Dr. Cates. We're going for a little trip."

A/N: Anyone besides me like Evil Jervis? I rather like the way he thinks…well until the horrible Flying Rodent gets mixed up in everything.


	7. Cold

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

#7

Cold

The temperature had dropped into the low twenties and ice crystals were forming on the windows of the house four people shared.

Alice Pleasance was upstairs in her room, going through her closet.

Clothes were strewn all over her bed as she attempted to find something to keep her warm.

The power was out, so the furnace wasn't working.

Ari appeared in her doorway, dressed in several layers, wearing a thick knitted hat and a scarf, and a thick quilt wrapped around her shoulders. "The boys have the fire going finally. I've gathered up pretty much all the blankets and pillows in the house so we can camp out in the living room. You find anything warm to wear?"

Alice pulled off yet another sweater and turned to face Ari. "Nothing is keeping me warm."

Ari's eyes danced merrily in the candlelight. "I bet I know what can keep you warm. It's downstairs, or rather, _he_ is downstairs tending to the fire and making tea."

Alice giggled. "I'll be down in a minute. Just need to put all this away."

"Leave it until the power comes back on. It's too cold up here. Your fingers will freeze up." Ari disappeared from the doorway.

On cold nights Alice would go through every sweater she owned, only to come back to the same conclusion every time: nothing warmed one up like a nice cozy hat..ter.

She pulled her knitted cap on and left the room without a backwards glance at the pile of clothes on her bed after blowing out the candles. She had a nice warm Hatter to curl up with on the loveseat with a cup of tea and a book neither needed to read to recite waiting for her downstairs.


	8. Drink

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

#8

Drink

His keys clattered as he sat them down on the hall table. Even they sounded weary to his ears.

Jervis Tetch hung up his coat, loosened his tie even more, shucked off his shoes, and made his way to the tiny kitchen of his apartment. He turned on the light and grabbed his kettle from the stove.

Humming filled the small space as he filled it with water. The sound of water filling the metal object was very soothing after his stressful day.

The white rabbit cookie jar watched him as he set the kettle on the burner and turned it on.

Jervis nodded to it. "Good evening White. I rather hope you had a better day than I did."

The cookie jar remained silent, knowing its owner would tell it all about his day in a moment.

Jervis dug around in his tea cabinet and removed a box of a fine Earl Grey. "It started out a good day, you know. Alice got there a little bit after I did and shared a morning cup of tea with me. She asked after my project and I filled her in on my progress." He removed a fine china cup and saucer from another cabinet. "Everything was frabjous until lunch. Dr. Cates came in and began her usual tirade."

The cookie jar seemed to give Jervis a sympathetic look.

His face twisted as he did an impression of Dr. Cates.

"'Tetch! You had best made progress. Because if you haven't, heads will roll!' 'You're such a waste of company money, Tetch. You never get any work done. Honestly, all you ever do it drink tea and theorize.' As if she ever does anything besides complain. I _do_ work, but as no one shows any interest in what I do besides Alice, I don't have the materials or tools best suited for what I'm doing. I had to reacquaint myself with the parts of the brain with an ape's brain. And I'm using outdated machinery to create my devices." He shook his head sadly.

The kettle began to whistle.

Jervis removed it from the stove and added two scoops of Earl Grey to his teapot once he'd warmed it up. He poured in the rest of the water from the kettle and put the teapot on a tray.

The cookie jar watched it all with an air of extreme familiarity, knowing its job was coming up.

Jervis removed a lemon slice from the container in the refrigerator and placed it on the saucer. He turned to the cookie jar. "Sorry old fellow, but I'm going to need to remove some of your innards.

The cookie jar let Jervis remove its head and take out a few cookies which Jervis placed on the other side of the teacup.

He replaced the rabbit's head and carried the tray into the living room. He placed it on the table next to his armchair, grabbed his beloved copy of _Alice in Wonderland_, settled in his chair, and poured himself a cup of tea.

The book opened right to where Jervis had left off the night before as he carefully sipped from his cup.

The cup of tea was the most civilized moment of Jervis' day…even Dr. Cates' rants were wiped away in the oblivion of a fine cup of Earl Grey.


	9. Midnight

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

#9

Midnight

It had turned on as she was dressing for bed. It lit up the clouds that always seemed to hang over Gotham at night, no matter what season it was.

She was too frightened to leave her room to ask Ari if someone had escaped from Arkham or if it was something else.

Ari always seemed to know which it was and who was involved.

It wasn't that she was frightened that something would happen to her. Oh no, that wasn't the issue.

The one time she'd gotten mixed up in anything done by one of the Rogues, she'd been treated with nothing but respect. Ari had told her it was probably because of Jervis and that if the Joker did anything to her and Jervis found out about it, the Joker would be smiling out the other side of his face and be dancing to whatever tune Jervis wanted him to via a control card.

No, what Alice feared was that the answer would be someone _had_ escaped Arkham and that someone was Jervis.

She worried about him so much, worried about if he was sleeping enough, eating enough, if they were treating him well at Arkham or not.

The symbol in the sky was the sum of all her fears. Not that she wasn't grateful for what Batman did, she just didn't like the fact that her poor Hatter might be the one Batman was trying to capture. Batman had a long track record of bringing in members of the Gallery in less than tip-top shape.

The soothing sounds of Ari knitting in the other room failed to put Alice to sleep as they normally did.

Alice lay in bed and watched the Bat Signal click off, unable to sleep and unwilling to lose herself to peace on such a night. She knew that neither she nor Ari would be getting any sleep that night.

For some reason, Ari never went to bed until Alice was asleep. And tonight would be no different.

It comforted Alice to know that she wasn't the only one worrying as she lay there, praying with everything she was that Jervis was safe and not the subject of whatever caused the police to summon Batman.


	10. Temptation

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

#10

Temptation

It was the end of the work day, and for once Jervis wasn't staying after to work on his project.

Somehow he'd been convinced to join Arianna, Ezekiel, and Alice for dinner at a small diner they'd discovered down the street from the building.

The two women were going to pop into the restroom and then meet the two men in the lobby.

Jervis swallowed thickly as he watched Alice walk down the hall with Arianna, or more specifically, watched the sway of the blond woman's hips –why did she insist on torturing him this way?

"I don't think she knows she does it, really. She doesn't know what she does to a man." Zeek stated from Jervis' right side.

Jervis turned his head to look at him. "Did I speak that thought out loud?"

Zeek chuckled and put a hand on Jervis' shoulder. "No. You just had the same look on your face that I've seen plenty of times on my own when in connection with Ari before we got together."

"Look?"

"It's a bit of a mixture between the 'that woman is going to be the death of me' look and the 'I love what I see' look. It eventually evolves into the 'this is sweet torture I'd love to die by' look when you get together, or so Ari tells me." Zeek replied.

Jervis's eyebrows rose.

"Oh really?"

Zeek nodded. "Alice and Ari are a lot alike in many ways, but have two main differences."

"Such as?" Jervis questioned as they descended the stairs.

"Well Alice is shy about what she wants. Ari, not so much. She'll go after what she wants like a cat on the hunt while Alice only hopes she'll get what she wants. But the main difference is that Ari knows what she does to men and will use it if necessary. Alice is utterly innocent and doesn't understand what it is that makes men look at her they way they do. Ari's tried to explain it to her, but Alice denies it."

The two men took up a position near the doors to wait for the women.

"What should I do about what she does to me?" Jervis asked a minute later.

Zeek shot him a smile as the girls appeared and started to make their way over to them. "Enjoy it. Because if Alice ever realizes Ari's right, you can be sure she'll find a way to stop doing it." He stepped forward to meet the girls and offered Ari his arm.

She took it with a bright smile.

Jervis smiled softly at Alice and offered her his arm. "My dear."

She smiled back and slipped her arm through his.

Jervis forced himself to keep his breathing even. He did enjoy the sweet torture Alice unknowingly put him through and he never wanted it to end.


	11. Music

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

#11

Music

Silence suited him. It had been his companion pretty much his whole life.

She liked silence, but too much of it would eventually drive her crazy.

There had always been some sort of noise in her home as she grew up.

The slightly dim light was fine with him, but she liked brighter light.

Jervis had always been a quiet creature, from his very earliest moments, but while this particular trait made him invisible to most people, Alice only saw it as a reason to draw him out into the light and sound of her world.

This led to numerous attempts of trying to pry Jervis out of his office.

Alice tried everything: from lunch to walks and even threatening to have Ari help drag him outside.

Everything failed until Alice was given tickets to a play.

Alice begged him to go with her.

Jervis blushed and tried to stammer out a refusal.

"But it's _Alice in Wonderland_, Jervis. I've never seen it before. And Ari and Zeek are going too if that's what you're worried about." Alice told him.

Jervis crumbled under her pleading blue eyes. "All right Alice. I will attend the play with you."

Alice gave him a bright smile. "Great." She wrote down her address and handed it to him. "I'll expect you at seven." She practically skipped from the room.

Jervis looked down at the slip of paper and a grin spread across his face. He finally had her address.

*~*~*~*

Alice yawned again as she walked next to Jervis as they approached the theatre the next evening.

"Will you be all right my dear?" Jervis asked worriedly.

Alice smiled. "I'll be fine Jervis. It's just been a long day. Look, there's Ari and Zeek." She picked up the pace when Zeek leaned over a trashcan.

Ari greeted Alice and Jervis. "Allo you two. I hate to say it, but we won't be joining you. Zeek ate some of my sushi at dinner and it's disagreeing with him. So I'm going to take him home so he can recover."

"That's probably a good idea, Miss Fields. Though if he develops a fever, you should take him to the hospital." Jervis stated.

Ari shot him a smile. "Will do. You two enjoy yourselves. Come on you, let's get you home." She led Zeek away.

Alice and Jervis entered and found their seats.

Shortly into the first act, Alice's head ended up on Jervis' shoulder as her long day caught up with her.

Jervis spent the rest of the play lovingly watching her sleep.

From behind one of the decorative mirrors hung around the room, Ari, or rather Cheshire, watched them.

The Knave of Hearts stood next to her with a bucket, getting sick.

"I tried to warn you." she told him.

He groaned. "How was I supposed to know it was your Granddam's secret recipe?"

She rolled her eyes as he threw up again and went back to watching the Royal Couple.

A/N: I had always wondered how Jervis knew where Alice lived. I really don't see him looking through her file to find out.


	12. Cover

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

#12

Cover

The day was extremely slow. The oppressive Gotham-in-summer heat made it seem even slower.

With the air conditioner broken, people in all departments were trying to get work done without turning on heat producing machines.

Jervis had removed his lab coat and rolled up his sleeves in an attempt to combat the heat.

Even Alice had tried to fight the heat.

She had unbuttoned a couple buttons of her short-sleeved blouse and made iced tea instead of the kind she usually made.

When it became apparent that Jervis wouldn't get and work done without generating more heat, he joined Alice at her desk for a discussion of whatever topics came to mind.

Ari appeared in the doorway an hour later, looking completely unaffected by the heat. "Dr. Cates is coming! I'd look busy if I were you." She disappeared to spread the word.

Jervis legged it while Alice tried to look busy and harried, coming up with a cover story as Dr. Cates stormed down the hall towards them on a particularly slow day.

Dr. Cates ignored Alice and stuck her head into Jervis' office. She nodded when she saw Jervis going through papers and putting them in boxes, looking for all the world like he was trying to organize his office. She withdrew and headed towards a different department.

Jervis exited his office when he was certain the coast was clear. "Alice?"

She looked at him. "Yes Jervis?"

He smiled sheepishly. "It seems that while I was pretending to be busy trying to organize my office, I missed placed notes I need. Would you be so kind as to help me find them?"

Alice stood up from her desk. "Of course Jervis. And maybe this way we _can_ get your office organized."

Jervis let her enter his office first. "We can only hope my dear."


	13. Promise

Disclaimer: See #1 for it.

#13

Promise

Everything had seemed to go all wrong.

He and several of the other Rogues had escaped from Arkham, mostly because the food was terrible. They had gone their separate ways once they'd reached the Iceberg Lounge.

To be honest, he hadn't even wanted to escape. But when the Joker, Killer Croc, and Poison Ivy decided a major portion of the Gallery was getting out, one didn't argue with them.

After forcibly being made to go change into his signature outfit, Jervis found himself sneaking around alleys, unsure of what he was going to do.

Until a decidedly female hand reached out and pulled him into the kitchen of a café.

He caught his balance and looked up to find Ari, Zeek, and Alice standing before him.

Alice rushed into his arms. "Oh Jervis! You're all right."

He smiled down at her. "Why wouldn't I be my dear?"

Ari leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. "Well you broke out of Arkham with the Joker, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, the Scarecrow, Scarface and Arnold, and that crazy new guy, who, by the way, isn't going to last a week the way he keeps going. Forgive us if we worry about what they might do to you, let alone what _Batman_ will do to you should he catch up to you."

Zeek patted her shoulder. "Now, now, we know you don't like the flying rodent and would love to sink your claws into him, but this is neither the time nor the place for you to get on your soapbox."

Alice pulled back a little. "You have to turn yourself in, Jervis. Otherwise they might hurt you when they try to capture you. And I couldn't bear it if that happened."

Jervis looked down at the woman he loved with his whole being and took a step back. "I can't."

"Trust me," she pleaded, tears in her eyes as she held out her hands beseechingly –and as usual, he could not deny her.

"Very well," he sighed. "I'll turn myself in. But only for you." He took her hands and kissed the back of them.

Ari straightened. "It's the best thing to do in the long run. The doctors will see it as a gesture of goodwill and sanity, and you'll get out early. And the sooner you get out, the sooner the two of you can be together."

"And the sooner we can whisk them off to where they belong." Zeek muttered under his breath.

Ari heard him and discreetly stepped on his foot.

Twenty minutes later, Commissioner Jim Gordon was standing next to Jervis in the police station.

"You're giving yourself up? Is this some kind of trick?" he questioned.

Jervis shook his unhatted head. "No. Of course not. I didn't want to escape from Arkham, but I've found that sometimes it's better if I don't argue with some of my fellow Rogues. I'm more likely to keep my head that way."

Commissioner Gordon placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is going to help along your treatment quite a bit I think. You'll be out of Arkham in no time since it seems like you're starting to become rehabilitated."

The corners of Jervis' mouth twitched.

"That's something I look forward to." He glanced towards the window and saw the three huddled in a small alleyway across the street.

Alice gave him a proud smile.

He felt much better about what he was doing.


End file.
